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Palacios isn't held in high regard in the prospect world despite hitting .296/.333/.454 between Class A and High-A last season. That's probably in part because he did it as a 20-year-old, turning 21 in July. Still, the Rays are trying to build up their farm system for another run built on homegrown talent, and Palacios will now be added to that mix.

Odorizzi has been available all offseason, and it's fascinating to see how relatively little the Rays were willing to accept in a deal for the 27-year-old. Of course, his 4.14 ERA last year contributed to that price tag, as did a career 4.23 FIP, surely. A move from the Trop to Target Field doesn't do much, if anything, to benefit Odorizzi's game, but a change of scenery might. Odorizzi will make $6.3 million this year.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres have agreed to a deal with free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer.

Finally, Hosmer is off the board. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that it's an eight-year deal with an opt-out after five years. Meanwhile, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report hears the deal is worth $144 million. Of course, it has been reported for weeks that Hosmer had seven-year offers from both the Padres and the Royals, but San Diego apparently upped the ante to get a deal done. The deal blows away the previous franchise record (Wil Myers - $83 million) for a signing. By the way, with the addition of Hosmer, the Padres will shift Myers back to the outfield.

Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports the Rays have traded Jake Odorizzi to the Twins.

FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that shortstop prospect Jermaine Palacios is headed back to the Rays. It's a savvy pickup for the middle of the Twins' rotation. Odorizzi's name swirled in trade talks all winter after he put up a 4.14 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 143 1/3 innings last season. He recently won his arbitration hearing against the Rays and will make a $6.3 million salary in 2018. He's under team control through 2019.

Joe Mauer said he hopes to continue his Twins career after his contract runs out following the 2018 season.

"This is where I want to be," Mauer told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "This is where my family is, where my daughters are growing up. I have no intention of going anywhere else. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that." His time with the Twins -- and any club, for that matter -- appeared to be running out after years of middling performance, but the 34-year-old rebounded with a .305/.384/.417 line in 141 games last season. It won't be to the tune of the $23 million he'll make in 2018, but another good year could earn Mauer a new deal with the Minnesota club, perhaps one that takes him to the end of his career.

As noted by Baseball America's Kyle Glaser on Twitter, Dickerson went from being the American League's starting designated hitter in last summer's All-Star Game to being removed from the Rays' 40-man roster days before spring training was set to open. Dickerson's career path has been a strange one, but the 28-year-old shouldn't be out of a job for long given his past brushes with success. Still, a shocking move from the Tampa club as camp is set to open, to say the least.

Rays acquired DH C.J. Cron from the Angels for a player to be named later.

Well, that came out of nowhere, although it's not altogether unfathomable. The Angels and Cron in January had agreed on a $2.3 million contract for the first-time arbitration-eligible player, but with Albert Pujols and Luis Valbuena in tow, at-bats were going to be hard to come by for the 28-year-old. As far as Cron's role in Tampa, he should have every opportunity to hit his way into regular at-bats on the club, which has few roles set in stone.

The Mets are among the teams that have recently scouted free agent reliever Kevin Siegrist, according to the Bergen Record.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick recently reported about 20 scouts watched Siegrist throw in Florida on Thursday, so it's likely the Mets were represented at that session. A once-dominant reliever, the 28-year-old owned a 4.81 ERA in 39 1/3 innings last year. If he showed anything at the showcase, a team could do worse than taking a shot on the southpaw on a minor league deal.

Robbie Erlin (elbow) is throwing bullpen sessions in anticipation of vying for a rotation spot this spring.

"Both of those guys, we like where they are right now," Padres manager Andy Green said of Erlin and Colin Rea. "And we like that they're heading back to pitching for us on, hopefully, a consistent basis. They're in the hunt for rotation spots right now." Erlin has made just six major league appearances since the start of the 2015 season and is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery. He's one of 10 pitchers in the hunt for five rotation spots this spring.

Colin Rea (elbow) is throwing bullpen sessions without issue and is in the mix for a spot in the Padres' starting rotation.

"Both of those guys, we like where they are right now," Padres manager Andy Green said of Rea and Robbie Erlin, both of whom are recovering from Tommy John surgery. "And we like that they're heading back to pitching for us on, hopefully, a consistent basis. They're in the hunt for rotation spots right now." The Padres have 10 guys vying for five spots in the rotation, so it'll be an uphill climb for the 27-year-old, who hasn't pitched in the majors since the middle of the 2016 season.

It's unclear if the deal will include an invitation to major league spring training. The 30-year-old hurler hasn't appeared in a big league game since 2015. He split his 2017 season pitching for Double-A Arkansas (Mariners) and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Independent Atlantic League. He'll add minor league bullpen depth for the Dodgers.

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports that Tony Watson's deal with the Giants guarantees the southpaw at least $9 million.

Crasnick also notes that the contract contains escalators and incentives that could drive the value up as high as $14 million over two seasons or $21 million over three seasons. That makes a whole lot more sense than the initial report which said it would be a three-year pact for $7 million.

Felix Hernandez said that he felt good after his first bullpen session of the year on Saturday.

The veteran right-hander threw 27 pitches during the session. The M's plan to manage his workload a bit differently this year in an attempt to keep him healthy and effective for the duration of the season. He'll make his Cactus League debut on February 26 against the Cubs.

There had bee an announcement that he would be held out from his session, but did participate in fielding drills, but it looks like he was feeling good enough to throw anyways. It doesn't sound like the ankle injury should be a problem moving forward.